Kimberlee's Kennels

"Where puppies fall from Heaven & land in Iowa."

Where puppies fall from Heaven and land in Iowa

Selection Process Details: See Schedules by paging down.

At two weeks of age, or a little after, the puppies open their eyes for the first time. The first real photo shoot is done at this time. I aim to provide you with photos every 7 to 10 days thereafter. It is safe to assume that preventative meds are more important than getting the weekly photo shoot done. Customers anxiously get excited to select their puppy, but often wonder when it starts or how the process works. This page is dedicated to answering some of those questions.

We wait until the puppies are between 5 and 6 weeks of age to make our selections. This is a good time because we can start to see coat quality and also see glimpses of temperament. You will be scheduled below on your mother's list. Typically the date of Selection Day is scheduled shortly after birth. Time slots are given once I solidify who is on the list and who will be bumped off due to not sending a reserve or which customers may move off the list if they go with their 2nd choice litter. This process takes about 1 week following birth as customers make their decisions.

On Selection Day, most customers prefer to come visit and interact with the litter if they are within driving distance. Please keep family members to a minimum. Spouse and children only. When visiting the litter, you get to enjoy watching the litter mates interact with each other and also how they interact with your family members. There are many things to assess during your 1 hour visit. You can feel coat quality. You can assess temperaments and see which ones are independent and which ones like to sit on your lap and are more sociable. You also get to have a conversation with Ann, my supervisor. She will give you her professional assessments and also discuss differences in gender, size and skeletal structure. We listen for vocal behavior, we watch for dominance, aggression and timidity. We can see which ones are affectionate and which ones are more active. We can compare litter mates with each other. We also can weigh puppies and compare paw size and height. We can also look for faults, if there are any. Some customers choose to just form a connection with a puppy and listen to their hearts. While some customers come with grids and checklists! We can do some preliminary temperament tests to try to determine which puppies may be dominate. We will listen to your desires and find out what you are looking for specifically.

If you are not within driving distance, then I will contact you or post on facebook that it is your turn to select via video. I will then do an extra photo shoot or post videos of your top 3. To clarify, Ann will call you at the top of your scheduled hour to see which pups you want a video of. She then takes the video and uploads it for you. She will call you after you have had a chance to watch it and discuss the puppies with you and ask you any remaining questions.

If you are visiting the litter, you do not get to request a video. No videos will be done before Selection Day unless they are random group litter videos.

Once you select your puppy, I then schedule you for pick-up or delivery and also ask if you would like to purchase a bag of food.

Customers pick for all different reasons and in the end, you will probably love any puppy you get. However, decide before you come what is most important to you. It is hard to get everything you like in one puppy, but here are some different things that are important to customers:

1.) Gender: Male vs Female. " Males tend to bond with everyone in the family and keep a kindergarten boy spirit their whole life long. Females on the contrary tend to grow up and bond with just one person. They become more reserved the older they get. Not true in every case, but generally speaking. They can become a bit possessive and jealous of their owner. Females own the owner. The owner owns the male, "That's my boy." Females will sit under your desk, beside you on the couch and follow you into the bathroom. Several of mine look through my office window always wondering where I am and what I am doing. If you have children and you are buying a pup for the family, you should consider a male. If it is just for you, than a female will be fine. Often little old ladies like females because they want the feeling of being needed. Males have a plusher coat than females where females in general have thinner coats. Males have a blocky head and females are typically smaller boned - just depends on what kind of look you like. Males will twinkle their pee twice when outside and females just once. We do recommend a neuter at 4 months of age before the habit of lifting the leg starts or testosterone and humping behavior starts. Hopefully this will give you some things to take into consideration. Some customers just to stick with the gender that they are familiar with." 2.) Temperament: timidity, dominance, aggressiveness, socially friendly, active, independent, vocal. 3.) Coat quality: Wavy verses curly, thin verses plush. 4.) Size: large or small, husky or petite, skeletal structure, height and length. 5.) Shape of head: Small or blocky, apple shaped, long snout or short snout. 6.) Eye set: Close together, wide set, sweetness in eyes.

Lastly, any of my dogs have excellent potential to be wonderful life long companions if you take investing your time in basic obedience seriously. If you are willing to invest your money, you need to be willing to invest your time. You can purchase the most dominate puppy and send that dog through basic obedience and it will be a wonderful dog. On the contrary, you can purchase a submissive puppy and never train it, and it will end up being a disaster. In addition, any puppy will be naughty and go through a teething and whining phase. They all need plenty of good exercise and proper socialization. Fear about getting a new puppy is normal. We are here to support you before and after the sale. We take pride in educating our customers and answering all your questions. We also will help you decide what kind of containment system you may need. At your pick-up appointment we go over with you the following: Grooming, containment, potty training, teething, whining, K-9 health record protocol, warranty, microchip, basic obedience.

*****All customers need to drop me a message on facebook to let me know if they would like to come for a VISIT or if they want a VIDEO/PHONE consultation during their time slot. After you make your selection, we will then schedule you for pick-up or delivery. I will also then take dog food orders.****